Mindful Momma

5 Craft Kits That Boys Will Dig

All this talk about fostering imagination in your kids has got me thinking about arts & crafts projects. My youngest son is 8 years old and still loves to do crafts (see him proudly holding up a dragon puppet he made in school?) At almost 13, my oldest son is less enthusiastic about making crafts but more inclined to do a science project or two.

Over the years we have dabbled in many types of crafts, from junk sculptures (made out of whatever recycled materials you have on hand) to felted sweater coasters to homemade yarn pom-poms. We keep a bin of supplies in the basement for whenever boredom strikes.

Craft Kits to the Rescue!

When the creative inspiration (or stash of supplies) is not all there, it's nice to simply pull out a box with a craft idea ready to go. In the past few years, a number of new craft kits have come onto the scene and many of them have projects geared toward boys. I don't typically emphasize gender differences but there are plenty of crafts that my boys are not interested in and having grown up in a household full of girls, I know the opposite can be true as well.

DIY Felted Sweater Coasters

Still looking for a sweet little something to give to a friend for Valentine's Day? I've got a tutorial for coasters made with felted sweaters over on Green Your Way this week. It's a great way to give old sweaters a new life and create something new that you can use!

It's a fun craft to do with adults or kids any time of the year!

 

Top Natural Skin Care Products

Taking good care of my skin has ranked high on my priority list for most of my adult life. I had the good fortune to learn a lot about safer, natural and organic ingredients when I worked as a buyer for a local bath and body care company years ago. My luck continued when I started this blog and skin care companies started pitching me to review their brands. Yes, I'm a bit spoiled and my skin is very happy about it!

Out of a slew of products I've either purchased myself of been sent for review, here are a few that rose to the top: 

1. Facial Cleanser

AnnMarie Gianni Aloe Herb Facial Cleanser - Having heard good things about the AnnMarie Gianni line of skin care products, I took a chance and purchased this cleanser and I have not been disappointed. The creamy formula is good for my dry skin and I love that it contains antioxidants to prevent and repair free radical damage. $24 for 50 ml

Brownie Points - Love that this line is packaged in glass instead of plastic.

DIY Eco Glass Pendant Tutorial

Eco Craft: Glass Pendant Made with Repurposed Paper

As promised, I'm excited to share my first post over at Green Your Way (a channel of the Life Your Way ezine). It's a tutorial to make a glass pendant necklace using repurposed paper. The pretty paper I used for my necklace came from my Yuzen Box (a monthly goodie box filled with natural and organic products). See the full tutorial over at Green Your Way!

Do you have any eco crafts on the agenda this week?

 

A Special Gift Made with Repurposed Neckties

My mother gave me a very special gift for Christmas. A wall hanging made from repurposed neckties. But these weren't just any neckties - they were my dad's.

My father passed away in March of 2011. He was a university professor and I'm pretty sure he wore a necktie every single day that he taught a class. He was traditional that way.

How to Make a Yarn Pom-Pom

We've been having fun with yarn around here. Fluffy pom-pom kind of fun! When our friends at MightyNest gave us a sewing & knitting kit to try out, I figured it was about time to teach Liam how to make this fun craft activity that I remember making as a kid.

Yarn pom-poms are very simple to make. An older child can make them by themselves. A younger child may need some help but they still get the satisfaction of doing a lot themselves.

What you need:

Yarn (any kind, any color)

Cardboard (we used an old shipping box)

Scissors

How to make a pom-pom:

Start out by cutting out 2 circles of cardboard - with a notch in each for getting the yarn through.

Begin winding the yarn around the circle. Wrap over the loose end of the yarn to keep it in place. Keep wrapping until the whole circle is full. The more yarn you use, the fluffier the pom-pom. Use more than one color yarn if you would like. Better yet, wrap 3 colors at once for really fast pom-pom making!

Once the circle is fully wrapped, trim the end of the yarn. Using a scissors, carefully cut between the 2 cardboard circles. Be sure to hold on to the yarn as you cut to keep it from falling off the circle.

Next, pull a new piece of yarn through the 2 cardboard circles and tie it in a tight knot. I typically tie it a few times to make sure it is secure.

Now you can pull off the cardboard circles. Trim the pom-pom as desired. You can leave a long string on it if you are planning to attach the pom-pom to something.

Liam came up with a whole bunch of uses for pom-poms:

• play catch with it
• put it on your ice skates
• use it as a Christmas tree ornament
• attach it to a headband
• use it as a cat toy
• put it on top of a gift

Have you ever made pom-poms? What is your favorite thing to do with them?

Unplug Your Kids with Gifts from MightyNest

One of the biggest challenges I find in this gift giving season is finding gifts that my two boys (ages 8 and 12) will love but that do not lead to endless hours sitting in front of a TV or computer screen. Rather than encouraging them to be couch potatoes, I would much rather give them the gift of creativity and imagination.

My blog sponsor MightyNest has done an especially good job of curating a selection of gifts that engage kids in creative and imaginative play - or what they call gifts that are unplugged.

Sewing & Knitting Kit

This adorable sewing & knitting kit from French company Moulin Roty has everything you need for hours of sewing and knitting projects, all packed up in a cute suitcase box.

Yesterday 8 year old Liam and I dug in to this kit to see what inspired us. Since neither of us know how to knit (we plan to get a lesson from my mom when we visit her over Christmas), we decided to make yarn pom-poms. Have you ever made them? They are so fun and easy! Look for a tutorial on pom-pom making coming soon on my blog!

The fun part about this kit is that the child has their very own sewing supplies including metal sewing scissors, a thimble, a tape measure, a French knitting dolly and more! The easy to hold wooden knitting needles look like the perfect way for a child (or grownup!) to start learning how to knit.

Artterro Craft Kits

Artterro kits contain everything you need to make a fun craft using natural and recycled materials. I love that the company was founded by a couple of art enthusiasts in my home town of Madison, Wisconsin!

Liam and I have made the Bubble Wand kit - something that MightyNest does not carry right now but this Wire & Bead Art Kit is similar and even cooler! This type of free-form crafting is the type that my boys seem to like best. Bend the copper wire (available in 3 gauges), then add glass or wooden beads, shells or marbles to make whatever creation (or creature!) you want!

Tool Kit

This wooden tool box complete with tools is very tempting. It comes with 6 real tools sized for smaller hands - a ruler, saw, hammer, philips screwdriver, regular screwdriver and pencil. Everything is packed in a sturdy wooden box to keep everything safe for years to come.

If you want to really go all out, spring for the 14 piece tool set that has a Square Ruler, Ruler, C-Clamp, Philip Screwdriver, Regular Screwdriver, Chisel, Mallet, Plier, Plane, Sanding Block, Gimlet, Hammer, Hand Saw and a Spirit Level.

To make your holiday shopping a little easier MightyNest is offering 10% off to all Mindful Momma readers. Just use code MINDFUL10 at checkout.

What are your favorite ways to encourage your kids to unplug?

(Disclosure: I received a free kit from MightyNest in exchange for my honest opinion.)

3 Ways to Buy Handmade for the Holidays

Don't have time to get all Martha Stewart and make homemade gifts for your friends and family this year? Don't fret - you can still give handmade even without getting out the sewing machine or the craft glue. Artisans selling their fabulously creative wares (and let's face it - probably nicer than anything you could make yourself) can be found all over the place these days. Here are a few resources to get you started on a handmade shopping spree...

Local Gift Shops

We're a bit spoiled here in the Twin Cities (that's Minneapolis and St. Paul, yo!) since we have a whole slew of fun and funky gift shops, many which specialize in local, crafty stuff. A couple of my favorites are Digs Studio (right in my 'hood) and i like you up in North Minneapolis. Later this week I plan to check out Paper Hat, a relatively new shop in South Minneapolis. Do you have a favorite local store for handmade gifts?

Craft Fairs

By far the best way to see the most handmade choices in one place; craft and art fairs are abundant at this time of year. Keep your eyes out in your neighborhood and city newspapers or community websites. Find them at churches, schools, malls and even the local VFW.

My only issue with craft shows is that it's way too tempting to buy things for myself! Like these pretty repurposed tin earrings that I found at the Handmade MN show recently. Does your community have a craft fair or two during the holiday season?

Online

Let's face it, there's really no better place to shop for handmade gifts online than Etsy. Whether you are searching for something specific or just browsing around, you are bound to get lost in the pure thrill of it all. I'm seriously awed by all the creativity out there and available for sale on Etsy! Just today I found these adorable needle felted mushroom ornaments. Teacher gift, perhaps?

Have you bought any handmade gifts this year? Where are some of your favorites places to shop handmade?

(top photo from Digs Studio website)

New Sponsor: Blue Fish Clothing {Giveaway!}

I'm over the moon about my newest blog sponsor - Blue Fish Clothing - an independently owned women's clothing company that makes artisan designed and printed clothing out of organic cotton and other natural fibers.

About Blue Fish Clothing

Founder Jennifer Barclay began designing clothes for herself as a kid and her designs soon wowed customers at craft shows and music festivals. Her business grew and grew and before she knew it she was the hit of a major fashion trade show in New York! Still, Jennifer made sure that her company kept to its values of being earth-friendly and artisan-made:

• All fibers are organic, natural or recycled cotton, hemp, linen and silk.
• Organic cotton is spun in South Carolina.
• Clothing is sewn and dyed by two small companies in New Jersey.
• Everything is made in the USA from start to finish.
• All garments are printed by an artisan's hand.

Blue Fish Clothing is available at three retail locations (Taos, NM, Frenchtown, NJ & Fairfield, Iowa)
as well as online.

The Printing Process

If you are wondering how they do it, here's a video of a printing artisan at work. So amazing!

 

 

The Designs

Instead of saying any more I'm just going to show you a few items from their latest collections.

The Eventide collection:

 

The Contre Jour collection:

 

 

The sculpted pocket top from the Ancestral Patterns collection:

 

Giveaway

One super lucky Mindful Momma reader will win the sculpted pocket top shown above in the color of their choice (I personally love the juniper color shown)! Please use the Rafflecopter form below and leave a comment on this post letting me know your favorite Blue Fish Clothing designs. The giveaway will go through midnight on Friday, November 23rd. 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

(Disclosure: I was sent an item of clothing from Blue Fish in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Ethical Diamonds & Fine Jewelry from Brilliant Earth

This post is sponsored by Brilliant Earth

When I got married 21 years ago, I was not much of a diamond girl. At that point it was more of a frugal thing but the more I learned about the terrible human cost of the diamond trade, I preferred to stay away from those deceptively pretty objects. But if I were to be married today, you would find me swooning over Brilliant Earth's gorgeous, ethically produced engagement ring designs for sure!

Conflict Free Diamonds

Brilliant Earth diamonds are guaranteed to be conflict free in the most widely used definition of the term, which means that they do not come from sources that finance rebel forces against recognized national governments. Better yet, Brilliant Earth goes beyond conflict free by guaranteeing diamonds are free of all types of violence, workers are paid fair wages, child labor is absent and diamonds are mined ethically and with respect to the environment.